Chicken And Sprouts Recipe

Here’s a healthy chicken and sprouts recipe served with carrots and corn. This dish fits perfectly in a low glycemic load weight loss plan. What makes a diet like the ELH Diet work is that it allows you to eat a lot of healthy meals that are satisfying.

Being able to eat meals with a variety of food and good sized servings means you’ll be able to stick with the diet and won’t give up on your weight loss plan after just a few months.

Don’t make the mistake of taking up some fad diet that is too restrictive. These diet plans make you feel like you are being deprived.

People make this same mistake over and over and that’s why 85 percent of diets fail in less than one year! Don’t just focus on losing weight quickly. Take a close look at the diet and stop to think about whether or not you will be able to stick with the diet for a number of years.

The only effective diet is one you can stick to for a long time!

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (3 or more lbs for 2 people will provide a leftover meal)
1 small slice of bacon
1 lb of brussel sprouts
2 med sized carrots per person
1/2 cup of corn per person

* you can make more veggies if you want some for the leftover meal

The Best Pan To Cook The Chicken

This roasted chicken and sprouts recipe is an easy dish to prepare and it requires little attention during the cooking process. My favorite roasting pan for chicken is made of cast iron with an enamel coating. I have two of these and I try to fit the bird into the smallest one I can because a smaller pan helps cook the chicken more quickly and it also helps the bird to brown. These enamelled cast iron pans are easy to clean and they deliver perfectly browned chicken each and every time.

Preparing The Chicken

Rinse the bird well and lightly salt and pepper it before placing it in the pan. If you have a favorite spice for chicken go ahead and use it, but the chicken will taste just fine all by itself. Add a little white wine if you like.

Cover and roast at 350 degrees F for about 1 1/2 hours, then take it out and baste it every half hour or so until it is done. It needs to be cooked till it reaches 165 degrees F.

Chicken usually takes about 30 minutes per pound to cook if it’s in a heavy pan. Once it’s almost done, baste it one more time and turn it down to about 250 degrees F so it doesn’t overcook while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Cooking The Sprouts

Clean the sprouts and place them in a pan. Cover with water and lightly salt. Bring to a boil and simmer until they just start to get tender. Remove from heat, drain well and add a bit of butter. Cover the pan so the sprouts will continue to cook while you prepare to lighly fry them with one small slice of bacon.

Chop the bacon into 1/4 to 1/2 inch size pieces and toss into a small frying pan. Start cooking on med low heat. Add the sprouts when some of the bacon fat has melted and cook until lightly browned on one side. Turn once until brown on the opposite side.

Carrots And Corn

Carrots take longer to cook than corn does, so you want to start them first. Chop carrots into larger pieces and place them in a pot with some lightly salted water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer until the carrots just begin to get tender. Cook until you can prick with a fork but not until they are soft and mushy. Remember, the more you cook something, the higher the glycemic load. Drain and add a small dab of butter. Cover and set aside until you serve.

Place the corn in a pot, cover with water and lightly salt. You can start cooking the corn after the carrots have been simmering for about 5 minutes. Bring the water to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer until done. Corn usually takes about 4 minutes of simmering time. Remember not to overcook your vegetables for a low glycemic diet. More cooking usually results in a higher glycemic load for any carbohydrate.

Serving

Take the chicken out of the oven, baste and let it rest uncovered for a few minutes before serving. Warm your plates in the oven for a few minutes while you carve the meat so they help keep your meal warm.

I like to serve some dark and white meat together on each plate. White meat is dry and leaner than dark meat. A bit of each on each forkfull is just perfect. Add some vegetables to each plate and drizzle a bit of pan juice on the meat just before serving. ENJOY!

A Diet You Can Live With

Meal such as this one can easily fit into a diet you can live with. It provides a balanced diet and it will leave you with some healthy leftovers for snacking or for another meal. Not having healthy food for snacks or quick meals often leads to eating fast foods or junk food and that convenience kills.

I hope you enjoy the recipe! Feel free to comment or share your ideas for other recipes that are good for you and help keep your weight in check.